Article 1246 of alt.architecture:
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From: patter@dasher.cc.bellcore.com (patterson,george r)
Newsgroups: rec.woodworking,rec.food.cooking,misc.consumers.house,alt.architecture
Subject: Re: Finishing Butcher Block?
Date: 1 Jan 1994 20:51:37 -0500
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In article <2g501o$7rv@paperboy.ids.net>,  <alavarre@ids.net> wrote:

>We've overhauled the kitchen counters in an old house.  They are butcher 
>block...  They look really great now, and I'm tempted to seal them 
>with polyurethane.  But Jacques Pepin and the other chefs on 
>PBS chop directly on their butcherblock counters - we should be 
>able to do the same without destroying them?

Without destroying them, yes. Without scarring them up, no. The knives
will leave a network of scratches in the wood, just as they will on a
chopping board.

>One of the neighborhood gurus says just to seal them with 
>mineral oil...  I'm a bit leary of this with respect to its 
>effect on food...

What you need is something called "salad bowl finish". You can get it
from Woodworker's Supply for $29.95 a gallon, $13.95 a quart, or $7.20
a pint. It's rubbed in with a rag by hand and "contains only those
ingredients approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in
contact with food".

Woodworker's Supply can be reached at 1-800-645-9292. The catalog numbers
are 849-188 for one pint, 133-008 for one quart, and 133-009 for one 
gallon.

They also sell a product called "Preserve" which is used to restore a
damaged finish and is supposedly edible. You might want that for
touch-ups later on.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
                    | The first three laws of thermodynamics:
George Patterson -  |  1. You can't win.
                    |  2. You can't even break even.
                    |  3. You can't get out of the game.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------


Article 1247 of alt.architecture:
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From: pinn@cpqhou.sys.hou.compaq.com (Steve Pinn x44304)
Subject: Re: Finishing Butcher Block?
Organization: Compaq Computer Corp.
Date: Sun, 2 Jan 1994 02:43:31 GMT
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alavarre@ids.net wrote:

: How to finish a butcher block counter?

: We've overhauled the kitchen counters in an old house.  They are butcher 
: block...  They look really great now, and I'm tempted to seal them 
: with polyurethane.  But Jacques Pepin and the other chefs on 
: PBS chop directly on their butcherblock counters - we should be 
: able to do the same without destroying them?

I agree with the other poster, this will not destroy your counters but it
will scratch them.  An edible oil finish such as walnut or an oil
recognized as safe for consumption, such as mineral oil will be fine.

If you choose a top coating or building finish (poly, varnish, etc.) you
eill have to contend with flakes of the compound getting into your food.

It probably won't hurt you at the concentrations you get but who wants it!

Speaking of mineral oil, it is recognized by the FDA as a safe compound and
has been perscribed as a laxative for years.  Dosage is around 3 tablespoons
per dose so the amount that would transfer from a counter top or cutting
board to food would certainly not offer an effective dose.

: One of the neighborhood gurus says just to seal them with 
: mineral oil...  I'm a bit leary of this with respect to its 
: effect on food...

Once again pure mineral oil (ask your doctor or pharmacist if you have
a doubt) should work fine.  Pure Walnut or Tung oil should also be fine.

I do stress pure however, as those finishes deemed Tung Oil Finish or Varnish
or the like have heavy metal driers added.  So sick with the pure stuff.

: Any views or experience would be appreciated...

hope this hels - Steve



Article 1248 of alt.architecture:
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From: badboy@netcom.com (Jay Keller)
Subject: Re: Finishing Butcher Block?
Message-ID: <badboyCIzuz4.Fnx@netcom.com>
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
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In article <2g501o$7rv@paperboy.ids.net> alavarre@ids.net writes:
>
>How to finish a butcher block counter?
>
>We've overhauled the kitchen counters in an old house.  They are butcher 
>block...  They look really great now, and I'm tempted to seal them 
>with polyurethane.  But Jacques Pepin and the other chefs on 
>PBS chop directly on their butcherblock counters - we should be 
>able to do the same without destroying them?
>
>One of the neighborhood gurus says just to seal them with 
>mineral oil...  I'm a bit leary of this with respect to its 
>effect on food...
>
>Any views or experience would be appreciated...

If you go to the drug store and buy U.S.P. Mineral Oil (i.e. the edible type),
I don't think you have to worry about it hurting you, and it will keep the
maple sealed if you re-apply it periodically.  It's also much less expensive
(around $4 a pint) than any kind of oil which is packaged as a salad-bowl or
butcher block oil, many of which are just mineral oil anyway.

Don't use "baby oil".  It's cheaper, but it is not edible due to lower
purity and perfume content.  It's even cheaper than U.S.P. oil, however, and
IMHO it makes an excellent honing oil.  I can get a 20 ounce plastic bottle
for about $3 and it works great on oilstones.  Also, the smell is much more 
pleasant than the more expensive honing oils.  :-)
 
Jay Keller
Sunnyvale, California

Just say: It makes your edges as smooth as a baby's bottom ...



Article 1249 of alt.architecture:
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From: alavarre@ids.net
Newsgroups: rec.woodworking,rec.food.cooking,misc.consumers.house,alt.architecture
Subject: Butcher Block SUMMARY - And THANKS!!!
Date: Sun, 02 Jan 94 10:10:02 PST
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How to finish a butcher block counter?  Let me count the ways....

I was very impressed by the many kind replies.
I now feel quite safe and informed.  

Thanks VERY MUCH for all the responses.  

Here is a summary of our new knowledge:

=====================A Very comprehensive treatment!=========================
From: "Dominick Dell'Erba" <doctor@w3eax.umd.edu>
I'm an Architect in the Washington, D.C. area and have always been facinated
with old residences.

With respect to Butcher Blocks:

1. How did you strip the old finish?  I hope you didn't use a chemical
such as "Strypeze".  These have petroleum distillates.  Belt sanding to get
the wood to a "new" surface is all that is required.

2. Wash the surface with a mild soap and water solution.  Murphy's oil soap
is suitable or even dish washing liquid, diluted of course.

3. Dry the surface WELL.  Allow the surface to stand all day or night.
Whenever you're not around.  After washing, spread salt on the surface,
rubbing it into the surface with your hand.  Leave it sit on the suface.
This will dry and purify the surface preparing it for the next step.

4. Once the surface is dry.  Use a stainless steel pastry scraper to remove the
dried salt and any impurities it lifts.  Then wipe it clean with a dry cloth.

(By the way, in step 3. remember to rinse with clear water.)

5. You may then use oils to finish.  You can buy the expensive
oils as recommended ie. "salad bowl"  etc.  I reccommend
mineral oil, corn oil or canola oil.  Wipe an even light
coating on with cheese cloth and dispose of the cloth after use.

You may then repeat steps 1 thru 5 to maintain the surface.
However, belt or block sanding is not necessary unless the
surface is damaged after the initial refinishing.  The
stainless steel scraper will remove small nicks etc. ALWAYS USE
THE SCRAPER WITH THE GRAIN OF THE WOOD.  Chopping marks will
add some visual character so don't worry about that.  At some
point you can use a sanding block to remove these marks.
However the surface will not look as good as it does now.
Rather as NEW.  So enjoy the "patina" it will acrew.

Please bear in mind that oils will grow rancid and need to be maintained.
This means cleaning and re-oiling on a regular basis. You will notice a smell
as the oil turns.  Follow the above steps and you'll be fine.  Don't
necessarily wait for the oil to turn rancid before re-oiling.  Many Health
Departments do not allow meat contact with Butcher Block.  For reasons of
Salmonella etc. Use an acrylic cutting board for meats.  You could buy
a matching wood board for chopping vegetables etc. to save the counter
additional wear and tear. Oil it in the same fashion and keep it on the
counter.

Butcher Block is more work to maintain.  But it is a BEAUTIFUL surface
and worth the extra work.

I would be happy to answer any other questions.  You could also consult
your local health dept. with any questions.
==================================================================
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+We've overhauled the kitchen counters in an old house.  They  +
+are butcher |block...  They look really great now, and I'm    +
+tempted to seal them with polyurethane.  But Jacques Pepin and+
+the other chefs on PBS chop directly on their butcherblock    +
+counters - we should be able to do the same without destroying+
+them?                                                         +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
From: patter@dasher.cc.bellcore.com (patterson,george r)
    Without destroying them, yes. Without scarring them up, no. The
    knives will leave a network of scratches in the wood, just as
    they will on a chopping board.

From: pinn@cpqhou.sys.hou.compaq.com (Steve Pinn x44304)
    I agree with the other poster, this will not destroy your
    counters but it will scratch them.  An edible oil finish such
    as walnut or an oil recognized as safe for consumption, such as
    mineral oil will be fine. If you choose a top coating or
    building finish (poly, varnish, etc.) you will have to contend
    with flakes of the compound getting into your food. It probably
    won't hurt you at the concentrations you get but who wants it!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+One of the neighborhood gurus says just to seal them with    +
+mineral oil...  I'm a bit leary of this with respect to its  +
+effect on food...                                            +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
From: dmiller@crl.com (Donald J. Miller)
   Yuck! I am no expert, but in high school one of the first
   projects we did in wood shop was a simple cutting board.
   The recommended finish: vegetable oil! I have a feeling
   that Corn Oil, Peanut Oil, or just about any other EDIBLE
   oil would be OK.  You should probably stay away from the
   petroleum distillates!
   ...................................................
From:kherron@ms.uky.edu (Kenneth Herron)
   Umn, vegetable oil will turn rancid after a while.  You don't want to use
   organic oils in applications like this.

   Like the other poster said, use something made for finishing wooden eating
   dishes.  It'll be called "salad bowl oil" or "walnut bowl oil" (not "walnut
   oil", extracted from walnuts).  Or use mineral oil.  As far as your body is
   concerned it's inert, and you'll get more petrochemicals from cooking in a
   teflon pan anyway...

From: patter@dasher.cc.bellcore.com (patterson,george r)
   What you need is something called "salad bowl finish". You can get it from
   Woodworker's Supply for $29.95 a gallon, $13.95 a quart, or $7.20 a pint.
   It's rubbed in with a rag by hand and "contains only those ingredients
   approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in contact with food".

   Woodworker's Supply can be reached at 1-800-645-9292. The catalog numbers 
are
   849-188 for one pint, 133-008 for one quart, and 133-009 for one gallon.

   They also sell a product called "Preserve" which is used to restore a 
damaged
   finish and is supposedly edible. You might want that for touch-ups later on.

From: pinn@cpqhou.sys.hou.compaq.com (Steve Pinn x44304)
   Once again pure mineral oil (ask your doctor or pharmacist if you have a
   doubt) should work fine.  Pure Walnut or Tung oil should also be fine.

   I do stress pure however, as those finishes deemed Tung Oil Finish or 
Varnish
   or the like have heavy metal driers added.  So stick with the pure stuff.

   Speaking of mineral oil, it is recognized by the FDA as a safe compound and
   has been perscribed as a laxative for years.  Dosage is around 3 tablespoons
   per dose so the amount that would transfer from a counter top or cutting
   board to food would certainly not offer an effective dose.

From: badboy@netcom.com (Jay Keller)
   If you go to the drug store and buy U.S.P. Mineral Oil (i.e. the edible
   type), I don't think you have to worry about it hurting you, and it will 
keep
   the maple sealed if you re-apply it periodically.  It's also much less
   expensive (around $4 a pint) than any kind of oil which is packaged as a
   salad-bowl or butcher block oil, many of which are just mineral oil anyway.

   Don't use "baby oil".  It's cheaper, but it is not edible due to lower 
purity
   and perfume content.  It's even cheaper than U.S.P. oil, however, and IMHO 
it
   makes an excellent honing oil.  I can get a 20 ounce plastic bottle for 
about
   $3 and it works great on oilstones.  Also, the smell is much more pleasant
   than the more expensive honing oils.  :-)

   Just say: It makes your edges as smooth as a baby's bottom ...

From: pallack@uvm-gen.EMBA.UVM.EDU
   I Have some mineral oil  at home.  I went to local place and told them that 
I have a
   butcherblock counter and need some oil to treat it but the type that isn't
   poisonous as I prepare food on it.  They understood perfectly.  and pulled
   out a partial bottle and said give it a try.

   I did and it works great... except when some children were over and they
   decided the table made a great drawing table :-)

From: arnie@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Arnie Skurow)
   Williams Sonoma sells a butcher block oil that is a combination of lemon oil
   and paraffin.  The instructions recommend rubbing a generous amount of oil
   onto a new block, letting it sit for a while and then wiping off the excess.
   It will not get rancid and seals the block. It sells for ~$5 for a 6 or 8 
   ounce dispenser bottle.

From: William Fre Daniels <wim@chopin.udel.edu>
   Mineral Oil should work well for your butcher block counter top.  We often
   use it to bring out the color and to protect walnut cutting boards and
   serving trays.

   If you are worried about the quality of the oil, purchase "Heavy Mineral 
Oil"
   that is intended for use as a laxative.  Try your local pharmacy...

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+Any views or experience would be appreciated...          +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
From: dmiller@crl.com (Donald J. Miller)
I have never applied veg oil to a piece of kitchen furniture, but it sure
seemed to do the job OK on that simple cutting board.  It may be prudent
to wait for a few more opinions on the thread before you act.

I use mineral oil to clean my bicycle chain... I think that is a more
appropriate use for the stuff   :)

From: anonymous
   What is mineral oil anyhow? The juice that comes from squeezing
   ripe minerals?

   Experiments are what you do between equipment repairs.



Article 1250 of alt.architecture:
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From: evansjii@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (Joel Evans)
Subject: Re: Butcher Block SUMMARY - And THANKS!!!
Message-ID: <CJ16yA.3I1@mentor.cc.purdue.edu>
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In article <2g6o4p$4l3@paperboy.ids.net> alavarre@ids.net writes:
>
>How to finish a butcher block counter?  Let me count the ways....
>
>I was very impressed by the many kind replies.
>I now feel quite safe and informed.  
>
>Thanks VERY MUCH for all the responses.  
>
>Here is a summary of our new knowledge:
>
>=====================A Very comprehensive treatment!=========================
>From: "Dominick Dell'Erba" <doctor@w3eax.umd.edu>
>I'm an Architect in the Washington, D.C. area and have always been facinated
>with old residences.
>
>With respect to Butcher Blocks:
>
>necessarily wait for the oil to turn rancid before re-oiling.  Many Health
>Departments do not allow meat contact with Butcher Block.  For reasons of
>Salmonella etc. Use an acrylic cutting board for meats.  You could buy
>a matching wood board for chopping vegetables etc. to save the counter
>additional wear and tear. Oil it in the same fashion and keep it on the
>counter.

lots of text deleted for brevity-


Mr.  Dell'Erba seems to be very well informed upon the subject of butcher
blocks, but I would like to point out that it has recently been shown that
acrylic boards are actually more likely to harbor Salmonella etc. bacteria
than wooden boards.  In fact wooden boards seem to be a very inhospitable
habitat for germs.  No one seems to know how the myth "Plastic cutting 
surfaces are more sanitary than wood" got started, but I suspicion it was
a sharp sales guy.  I posted the article based upon the research done by a
food scientist, but do not have it at hand.  If there is interest, I will
repost it.  Other than this point I thought Mr. Dell'Erba's post was very
thorough and correct. 


Article 1251 of alt.architecture:
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From: miller@lclark.edu (John Miller)
Subject: Re: Butcher Block SUMMARY - And THANKS!!!
Message-ID: <1994Jan3.020909.11700@lclark.edu>
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Mineral Oil is used in butcher shops on butcher blocks.

If you have a cutting board / butcher block you must have and use a block
scrapper.  A scrapper is a 4x6" flat metal tool with wooden hand-hold
on one edge.  You can keep its metal edge flat/sharp by perpendicularly
running it against a flat file.

Clean your surface best you can with a dishcloth, leaving a little soapy water.
Scrap diagonally across the surface in curved arcs, being careful to never
edge-match the grain.  Scrape the grunge into a corner or wherever.  Pick up
with the scraper and your hand and/or dishcloth.  (The grunge so yielded
will be slightly sticky, so you may not want it in your dishcloth.)

Do this daily or at least several times/week -- otherwise you will be really
grossed out at how much grunge collects.  The grunge will also contain some
cells of the wood from your block.

To keep your family heathly, add a CC of bleach to the dishwater and repeat
the process.

Also, even with oils, it pays to have a plastic cutting board reserved for
cutting onions and garlic.

my $0.02
-- 
"What's ahead?"




From london@calypso Mon Jan  3 07:46:21 1994
Date: Mon, 3 Jan 1994 07:43:31 -0500
From: Larry London <london@calypso>
To: london@sunsite.unc.edu
Subject: rw.wood.cutting-boards

Article 26333 of rec.woodworking:
Newsgroups: rec.woodworking
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From: toma@cray.com (Thomas Arneberg  {x66642 CF/DEV})
Subject: Wood Cutting Boards: Hardwood Forestry Bulletin #427
Message-ID: <1993Nov2.135015.11191@ned.cray.com>
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Date: 2 Nov 93 13:50:14 CST

I just spotted this in rec.food.cooking (posted by <EVANSJII@PURCCVM.BITNET>)
and thought it would be a nice addition to the recent discussion here on
cutting boards.

  - Tom A.
---------------------------------------------+----------------------------
;-) I'd rather be ____  Thomas R. Arneberg   | Internet: toma@cray.com  
:-) singing in a |____| MPP IC Design Group  | UUCP: ...!uunet!cray!toma
:-) Barbershop  _|   _| Cray Research, Inc.  | CF/DEV room N214
:-) Quartet!   (_)  (_) Chippewa Falls, Wisc.| #include <std_disclaimer.h>
---------------------------------------------+----------------------------

------ begin included message ------

I attempted this post in my new Unix account, but I chose ... poorly.
So back to the old VM.  This is in reply to the inquiry about the
relative sanitary qualities of various cutting boards.   Here is a
very brief summary if you don't want to wade through the bulletin
(1 page single spaced).

   Wood cutting boards do not support certain food poisoning bacteria
but plastic ones do, under the same conditions.  Wooden boards are
actually more sanitary.

Rather than quoting from the bulletin, I will just type it in toto.

         HARDWOOD FORESTRY BULLETIN    # 427    2/93


           Conventional Wisdom Falls Flat

For decades now, cooks in homes and restaurants have been urged to use
plastic rather than wood cutting boards in the name of food safety.  No
one knows how this piece of conventional wisdom got started but newspapers,
magazines, and popular journals regularly tout the virtues of plastic
over wood.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  A new study shows
wood cutting boards, not plastic, are far safer for food preparation.

This study came about because Professor Dean O. Cliver, a 30-year food
safety specialist at the Food Research Institute of the University of
Wisconsin-Madison, could not get satisfactory answers when trying to
document the widespread recommendation of plastic as safer than wood.
He approached Wisconsin cutting board manufacturers at the end of 1991,
trying to devolop a collaboration othat would qualify for a grant from
the Wisconsin Department of Development.  This and two other grant proposals
were rejected, but the work began as an unsponsered activity of the Food
Research Institue.

When the direction the results were leading became evident, Harry Hoffman
of Bemis Manufacturing Company in Sheboygan Falls, WI. contacted several
companies he thought would be intersted.  Officials of some of these
companies met with Cliver in Chicago in January and some of the companies
are now providing partial financial support for the work.

Dean Cliver and Nese Ak, a graduate student in food microbiology, conducted
the study and reported the results.  In some as yet unknown way wooden
cutting boards eliminate bacteria that survive well on plastic boards.
They reached this conclusion after they purposely contaminated the boards
with some very deadly bacteria - Salmonella, Listeria, and enterohemorrhagic
Escherichia coli - known to produce food poisoning.  Three minutes after
contaminating a board, 99.9% of the bacteria on wooden boards had disappeared
while the bacteria on platic boards remained unaffected.  Bacterial numbers
actually increased on plastic cutting boards held overnight at room
temperature, but the scientists could not recover any bacteria form wooden
boards treated the same way.  Washing knife-scarred platic boards with
detergent did not eliminate bacteria from the surface.  On the other hand,
repeated inoculations seemed to have no effect on wood's ability to
reject bacterial contamination.

Cliver and Ak tested cutting boards made from seven different hardwood tree
species and four types of platic.  They tested both new wood and old
cutting boards as well as wood and plastic meat blocks form butcher shops
and food kitchens.  The rapid reduction of test bacteria on wood surfaces
was not related to species or age of the cutting block.  Under identical
test conditions, the wood cutting boards remained free of bacteria while
the plastic boards actually showed increases in bacterial populations.
The scientists stress that good hygiene is still essential when using
wood boards.

So where did we get the idea that wood isn't safe?  Cliver and Ak don't
know.  They did an extensive literature search and found no studies that
evaluated the food safety attributes of wood and plastic cutting boards.
This is one case where conventional wisdom may not have been so smart
and might actually have been harmful because it promoted a less safe
product.

This bulletin was published by the Hardwood Research Council,  John
A. Pitcher, Director.  Memphis TN, Phone 901-377-1824.

I have no affiliation with the Hardwood Research Council, although I
am a grad student in Wood Science at Purdue University and therefore
support the use of wood products.  I have been reading this newsgroup
for a while and really enjoy the recipe postings and discussions, but
this is my first post.  I apologize for making it such a long one.

Joel

----- end included message -----



 


From london@calypso Mon Jan  3 07:46:34 1994
Date: Mon, 3 Jan 1994 07:44:04 -0500
From: Larry London <london@calypso>
To: london@sunsite.unc.edu
Subject: rww.safe.cutting.boards

Article 25712 of rec.woodworking:
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Message-ID: <93Oct25.171526cdt.74197@utdallas.edu>
Date: Mon, 25 Oct 1993 16:57:36 -0500
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From: Jeff Roberts <JROBERTS@UTDALLAS.BITNET>
Subject: Cutting board: plastic vs wood
Lines: 20

I know this subject has come up many times before, but here is a little
info. from the Dallas Morning News today:

                        SAFE CUTTING BOARDS

For decades, cooks have taken it on faith that plastic cutting boards are
safer than wooden ones, the thinking being that plastic inhibits the growth
of bacteria and wood doesn't.  But it just isn't so.  Microbiologists from
the University of Wisconsin tested cutting boards made from seven different
species of tree and four kinds of plastic.  They found that a good way to
get food poisoning is to slice bad meat or fish on a plastic cutting board
and then use it to chop vegetables.  Bacteria stayed very much alive on the
plastic surfaces, but died within three minutes on the wooden boards.  The
researchers speculate that wood contains some sort of compound that kills
bacteria..

Seems to me that putting any type of finish on your cutting board may inhibit
this killing effect (if it is true, I'm kinda skeptical about guys who study
cutting boards for a living anyway, but hey, who knew?)

Jeff Roberts JROBERTS@UTDALLAS.EDU



 


From london@calypso Mon Jan  3 07:46:44 1994
Date: Mon, 3 Jan 1994 07:44:13 -0500
From: Larry London <london@calypso>
To: london@sunsite.unc.edu
Subject: Wood Cutting Boards: Hardwood Forestry Bulletin #427

This section is from the document '/.pub/academic/agriculture/sustainable_agriculture/newsgroups/rec.woodworking/new-info/2/rw.wood.cutting.boards'.

>From toma@cray.com Thu Nov 11 22:49:05 EST 1993
Article: 26333 of rec.woodworking
Newsgroups: rec.woodworking
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From: toma@cray.com (Thomas Arneberg  {x66642 CF/DEV})
Subject: Wood Cutting Boards: Hardwood Forestry Bulletin #427
Message-ID: <1993Nov2.135015.11191@ned.cray.com>
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Organization: Cray Research, inc.
Date: 2 Nov 93 13:50:14 CST

I just spotted this in rec.food.cooking (posted by <EVANSJII@PURCCVM.BITNET>)
and thought it would be a nice addition to the recent discussion here on
cutting boards.

  - Tom A.
---------------------------------------------+----------------------------
;-) I'd rather be ____  Thomas R. Arneberg   | Internet: toma@cray.com  
:-) singing in a |____| MPP IC Design Group  | UUCP: ...!uunet!cray!toma
:-) Barbershop  _|   _| Cray Research, Inc.  | CF/DEV room N214
:-) Quartet!   (_)  (_) Chippewa Falls, Wisc.| #include <std_disclaimer.h>
---------------------------------------------+----------------------------

------ begin included message ------

I attempted this post in my new Unix account, but I chose ... poorly.
So back to the old VM.  This is in reply to the inquiry about the
relative sanitary qualities of various cutting boards.   Here is a
very brief summary if you don't want to wade through the bulletin
(1 page single spaced).

   Wood cutting boards do not support certain food poisoning bacteria
but plastic ones do, under the same conditions.  Wooden boards are
actually more sanitary.

Rather than quoting from the bulletin, I will just type it in toto.

         HARDWOOD FORESTRY BULLETIN    # 427    2/93


           Conventional Wisdom Falls Flat

For decades now, cooks in homes and restaurants have been urged to use
plastic rather than wood cutting boards in the name of food safety.  No
one knows how this piece of conventional wisdom got started but newspapers,
magazines, and popular journals regularly tout the virtues of plastic
over wood.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  A new study shows
wood cutting boards, not plastic, are far safer for food preparation.

This study came about because Professor Dean O. Cliver, a 30-year food
safety specialist at the Food Research Institute of the University of
Wisconsin-Madison, could not get satisfactory answers when trying to
document the widespread recommendation of plastic as safer than wood.
He approached Wisconsin cutting board manufacturers at the end of 1991,
trying to devolop a collaboration othat would qualify for a grant from
the Wisconsin Department of Development.  This and two other grant proposals
were rejected, but the work began as an unsponsered activity of the Food
Research Institue.

When the direction the results were leading became evident, Harry Hoffman
of Bemis Manufacturing Company in Sheboygan Falls, WI. contacted several
companies he thought would be intersted.  Officials of some of these
companies met with Cliver in Chicago in January and some of the companies
are now providing partial financial support for the work.

Dean Cliver and Nese Ak, a graduate student in food microbiology, conducted
the study and reported the results.  In some as yet unknown way wooden
cutting boards eliminate bacteria that survive well on plastic boards.
They reached this conclusion after they purposely contaminated the boards
with some very deadly bacteria - Salmonella, Listeria, and enterohemorrhagic
Escherichia coli - known to produce food poisoning.  Three minutes after
contaminating a board, 99.9% of the bacteria on wooden boards had disappeared
while the bacteria on platic boards remained unaffected.  Bacterial numbers
actually increased on plastic cutting boards held overnight at room
temperature, but the scientists could not recover any bacteria form wooden
boards treated the same way.  Washing knife-scarred platic boards with
detergent did not eliminate bacteria from the surface.  On the other hand,
repeated inoculations seemed to have no effect on wood's ability to
reject bacterial contamination.

Cliver and Ak tested cutting boards made from seven different hardwood tree
species and four types of platic.  They tested both new wood and old
cutting boards as well as wood and plastic meat blocks form butcher shops
and food kitchens.  The rapid reduction of test bacteria on wood surfaces
was not related to species or age of the cutting block.  Under identical
test conditions, the wood cutting boards remained free of bacteria while
the plastic boards actually showed increases in bacterial populations.
The scientists stress that good hygiene is still essential when using
wood boards.

So where did we get the idea that wood isn't safe?  Cliver and Ak don't
know.  They did an extensive literature search and found no studies that
evaluated the food safety attributes of wood and plastic cutting boards.
This is one case where conventional wisdom may not have been so smart
and might actually have been harmful because it promoted a less safe
product.

This bulletin was published by the Hardwood Research Council,  John
A. Pitcher, Director.  Memphis TN, Phone 901-377-1824.

I have no affiliation with the Hardwood Research Council, although I
am a grad student in Wood Science at Purdue University and therefore
support the use of wood products.  I have been reading this newsgroup
for a while and really enjoy the recipe postings and discussions, but
this is my first post.  I apologize for making it such a long one.

Joel

----- end included message -----



 


From london@calypso Mon Jan  3 07:46:51 1994
Date: Mon, 3 Jan 1994 07:44:28 -0500
From: Larry London <london@calypso>
To: london@sunsite.unc.edu
Subject: Re: Wood Cutting Boards: Hardwood Forestry Bulletin #427

This section is from the document '/.pub/academic/agriculture/sustainable_agriculture/newsgroups/rec.woodworking/new-info/2/rw.wood.cutting.boards'.

>From HUFFMAN_GEORGE_W@LILLY.COM Thu Nov 11 22:50:02 EST 1993
Article: 26243 of rec.woodworking
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Date: Thu, 4 Nov 1993 08:36:31 -0500
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From: George Huffman <HUFFMAN_GEORGE_W@LILLY.COM>
Subject: Re: Wood Cutting Boards: Hardwood Forestry Bulletin #427
Lines: 24

Having noted many of the postings on wood vs. plastic cutting boards, I thought
I would toss in my $.02. In my business (antibiotic research) it is well known
that plastic can be an excellent substrate for certain bacterial growth. As an
example, the plastic catheters that are used in hospitals for IVs, temporary
implants, etc. These frequently are a source of infection for patients and one
that represents a major problem for some hospitals not to mention the patient.
So it's not a big suprise that plastic cutting boards behave in much the same
way. I know what everyone is thinking, but I'm not about to suggest to my
management that wooden  catheters are a solution to the problem, I think that
splinters might enter into the conversation. Anyhow, I shall continue to use my
wooden cutting board ...the delicious aroma of which is beyond description!

George
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
George W. Huffman               Lilly Research Laboratories  DC 1523
Huffman_George_W@Lilly.com      Lilly Corporate Center
(317)276-4251                   Indianapolis, IN 46285
"Anyone who takes seriously anything I say shouldn't be allowed on
the network in the first place."
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

From: HUFFMAN GEORGE W              (MCVAX0::RX15559)

To:   FOREIGN TRANSPORT ADDRESSEE   (MCDEV1::IN%"WOODWORK%IPFWVM.BITNET@uga.cc.u
ga.edu")



 


From london@calypso Mon Jan  3 07:47:00 1994
Date: Mon, 3 Jan 1994 07:44:33 -0500
From: Larry London <london@calypso>
To: london@sunsite.unc.edu
Subject: Re: Wood Cutting Boards: Hardwood Forestry Bulletin #427

This section is from the document '/.pub/academic/agriculture/sustainable_agriculture/newsgroups/rec.woodworking/new-info/2/rw.wood.cutting.boards'.

>From jayd@george.gcn.uoknor.edu Thu Nov 11 22:50:41 EST 1993
Article: 26361 of rec.woodworking
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From: jayd@george.gcn.uoknor.edu (Jay Davis)
Newsgroups: rec.woodworking
Subject: Re: Wood Cutting Boards: Hardwood Forestry Bulletin #427
Date: 4 Nov 1993 16:32:40 GMT
Organization: Geosciences Computing Network, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK
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Forgot one thing.  I put my white cutting board in the dish washer every time
I use it for meat, it get mighty hot in there.  And just rinse the wood board.
Jay@geohub.gcn.uoknor.edu



 

